It’s still a too early to plant tomatoes, but not to early to think about growing them. The plants are beginning to appear in gardening centers around Denver. Tagawa Gardens’ employee Sheilia Canada sets out a flat of Super Sweet 100 tomato seedlings.

A fresh tomato is one of the joys of summer, a palmful of sunshine that is one of the most versatile fruits out there. Toss it in a salad, sauté it for ratatouille, slice it for a simple tomato sandwich or just eat it right out of the hand — salt shaker optional.

“I love the different varieties,” says Weil, who helped found Heirloom Tomato Farms in Denver six years ago. “There are thousands of them. Every year I make a random pick of something new to plant. One of the best parts of doing this is sharing them with friends and neighbors.”

While home gardeners don’t grow tomatoes on the scale that the folks at Heirloom Tomato Farms do — they started out with 175 plants and now grow 5,000 in a season — they can employ some of the same growing tips the pros use.

It comes down to a quartet of essentials: sunlight, fertilizer, proper watering and pest control.

Gardeners should pick a spot that gets plenty of sunlight and good air flow, whether they are growing potted tomatoes or putting them in the ground.

Early May is generally planting season, although Weil concedes that “in Colorado you never know — you can always get a late snow.” In any event, our growing season is shorter than in other parts of the country, so early-bearing varietals are worth seeking out.

Most home gardeners buy plants directly from a garden shop or sale rather than starting from seeds. And it’s time to scope out those varieties now.

“You want plants with bright green leaves that don’t have any yellowing or holes in them or brown on the stems,” says Deborah King, manager of the perennials department at Tagawa Gardens in Centennial. “Smaller plants are easier to transplant. The soil in the pot should be damp, not dry or mushy.”

Ideally, buy hardened-off plants shortly before you put them in the ground. If they’re not hardened off — meaning not acclimated to the strong light, wind and temperature swings of life in Colorado — allow several days to get them used to life outside at your house.

There are a number of worthwhile varieties to consider. If you like salads, consider Sweet 100, a heavy producers of small cherry tomatoes. Roma varieties, such as San Marzano or Amish Paste, make excellent sauces and salsas, while larger varieties such as New Girls, Sun Golds and Better Boys, are terrific on sandwiches.

Be sure to roll the dice with an heirloom variety or two. Not only are they flavorful, they are beautiful to look at and make salads that are visual knockouts. And the names are fun: Striped German, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Big Beef.

“A lot of people think heirloom tomatoes are more difficult to grow that hybrids, but I’ve had good success with both,” Weil says.

The frost barrier

Tomato transplants should go into the ground after the danger of frost has past. Night temperatures should be in the low- to mid-40s at the lowest, with daytime highs at least in upper 50s.

But be forewarned: A week of cool daytime temps (below 55) can stunt plants and reduce yields. Many Colorado gardeners don’t plant until May 20 at the earliest unless they are using a Wall O’ Water or other season-extender.

These garden helpers act as mini greenhouses, sheltering the plants from cold, drying wind as well as temperature drops. They are available commercially, but homemade ones also work. You can fill washed, rinsed two-liter soda bottles with water and encircle the plants with them. The sun will heat the water and create a thermal barrier.

A Colorado State University Extension fact sheet at bit.ly/1HMsvri has links to detailed frost information beyond the Denver metro area. Be aware that your altitude can be as much a factor in your frost risk as how far north or south you live.

Soil for a tomato patch needs to drain properly. Turn the soil and break up the chunks so roots will have an easier time establishing. If you’re planting into a garden patch where other warm-season vegetables (beans, peppers) have thrived, you shouldn’t have to amend heavily (but you will still need some fertilizer). If you’re planting into containers, make them 5-gallon or bigger, and leave space for air circulation between them.

Weil urges prepping the planting hole with organic bone meal, about a quarter-cup per plant.

“Generally, that’s my secret,” he says. And “fertilize every six weeks, but don’t overdo it. I also use fish emulsion. That’s good old fish poop.” Both are available at garden centers.

Well-aged compost is also your friend, but don’t go overboard with the bagged stuff. It can be high in salts or nitrogen and “burn” plants.

Set the plants into the planting hole up to the first or second set of leaves. Got a “leggy” plant? Lay it on its side in a trench, with the stem gradually curving to the vertical. It will root all along the length of that stem.

Tomato plants like water, but within strict limits. If you overwater, root rot can set in, a real plant killer.

“Tomatoes like to be watered deeply, but not overwatered,” Weil says. So get on a schedule, using drip or soaker hoses where possible. Fruit can crack if watering becomes erratic.

Soon after the tomatoes are in the ground, surround them with tomato cages, the lightweight, open-weave metal fences that will support the plants as the tomatoes ripen and grow heavier. This is a chore that’s much more easily done when the plants are tiny, so don’t put it off.

Pinch off suckers — the small shoots that come out between the stem and branches — as the plants gain height.

Plant basil and marigolds near your crop to keep pests such as rabbits at bay. And consider releasing ladybugs or green lacewings in your vegetable patch. Aphids are the scourge of tomatoes; ladybugs and lacewings — and especially their larvae — are the scourge of aphids.

While Weil enjoys handing out his bounty to friends, that might not be the best part of being a tomato grower.

“My favorite thing is eating them,” he says. “Some are super sweet, others are acidic. But they’re all wonderful.”

Mostly, don’t let all the tomato tips daunt you. It isn’t tricky.

Brighton resident Norm Pawlowski will testify to that. He grew a prize-winning tomato on the simplest of gardening plans.

“I just planted a couple of them one year and one of them grew and grew and grew,” he says. “I just liked the name of the plant at the time, bought it and stuck it in the ground.” He can’t even remember the variety name. “All I did was put some Alaskan fish fertilizer on it, and it just took off.”

Faith and fish poop — the winning combo.

William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp

10-tip tomato checklist

These strategies from Heirloom Tomato Farms in Denver will help you reach your gardening goals.

1. Choose a bright, sunlit spot with good air flow for your plants.

2. Put a quarter-cup of organic bone meal in the hole before planting.

3. Set the plants into the ground up to the first or second set of leaves.

4. Tomatoes love compost.

5.Water walls or other frost/wind protectors help protect fledgling plants early in the season.

6. Cage your plants and pinch off suckers as the plant grows taller.

7. As your plants mature, water them deeply and consistently.

8. Fertilize every six weeks with fish emulsion, using the product directions.

Restaurant critic William Porter is a feature writer at The Denver Post, where he covers food, culture and people. He joined the news outlet in 1997. Before that, he spent 14 years covering politics and popular culture at The Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic. He is a native of North Carolina.